A workshop about „Soil management in rows and inter-rows in organic apple orchards” was organized on October 17 2019 at the Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice.
The event gathered over 50 participants, including members of organic producers associations, agricultural advisors and farmers from various regions of Poland. The workshop started with the visit in the experimental field where the participants were able to see how the innovative methods of soil management for rows and inter-rows proposed by the project look in practice. Dr. hab Eligio Malusá, prof. IO and Dr Małgorzata Tartanus explained the concepts at the basis of the trials, underlining how the management of both rows and inter-rows with novel species could increase the orchard biodiversity and the tolerance to diseases, reduce the weeds and pests and decrease the need of nitrogen fertilisation. The participants showed high interest about the planted species and appreciated the potential economic benefits derived from the additional cultivation. During the visit they exchanged their own experience and discussed about possible other plants that could have similar effect on orchard management. During the visit to the orchard there was a practical demonstration of the measurement of soil profile using the novel technique based on gamma ray quantification performed by Dr Simone Priori and Dr Lorenzo D’Avino (CREA, Florence, Italy).
In the seminar part of the workshop the participants could learn about the usable potential of leguminose plants used in the field trial, especially about Kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum) and Galega orientalis, which as nitrogen-fixing plants can be used to support the apple tree nutrition and improve the inter-row management of the orchard. This issue was presented by prof. Jadwiga Andrzejewska from University of Science and Technology (Bydgoszcz, Poland) and fostered a lively discussion.
Then, the preliminary results about the impact of the row management with medicinal plants and the fertilisation strategy with new organic fertilizers on the orchard biodiversity and soil properties were presented. In particular, these results concerned the effects on soil chemical properties, on the biodiversity of soil microorganisms and nematodes, the weed infestation and the occurrence of beneficial and harmful entomofauna. The topics were presented by several specialists involved in the project: Dr Małgorzata Tartanus, Mgr Monika Michalecka, Dr Małgorzata Sekrecka, Dr hab. Grażyna Soika, prof. IO.
The event was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences also with the farmers hosting the trials on their own fields and to discuss on the presented issues. The project activities were also acknowledged and appreciated by the director of Institute – Dr hab. Dorota Konopacka, prof. IO.
